Rachael A. Rezabek

Since joining Kirkland, Rachael has been involved in the following matters:

• Represented Gilead Sciences in district court antitrust litigation against claims by consumers and other direct purchasers alleging that Gilead maintained a monopoly in the HIV drug market by unlawfully extending its patent protection for its blockbuster HIV drugs, Truvada and Atripla to delay generic competitors’ entry. After a six-week jury trial, a San Francisco jury returned a complete defense verdict for Gilead, rejecting the plaintiffs’ claims seeking more than $10 billion in damages. The jury ultimately found that Gilead did not have market power with respect to either drug and that Gilead did not pay Teva to delay generic launch. This case is only the third reverse payment antitrust case ever to go to verdict (even though more than 30 such cases have been filed in the 13 years since the Supreme Court blessed this theory of antitrust liability in 2013), and the first verdict for defendants on the dispositive threshold issues of no market power and no anticompetitive payment.
• Trial counsel for Forest Labs in indirect purchaser antitrust class action alleging unlawful reverse payment in violation of Actavis related to settlement of patent litigation involving the blockbuster Alzheimer’s drug Namenda.
• Represented GoodRx in first-of-its-kind Health Breach Notification Rule FTC investigation leading to settlement creating new ground rules for health-related online marketing.
• Defended Young Living against multiple putative class action lawsuits alleging false advertising, RICO and fraudulent business practices.
• Represented LendingClub to defend FTC action in N.D. Cal. alleging violations of Section 5 of the FTC Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (the “GLBA”), achieved dismissal of the GLBA claim at summary judgment and settled the remaining allegations for less than 2% of the FTC’s litigation demand.

Prior to joining Kirkland, Rachael was involved in the following matters:

• Represented a pharmaceutical company in a consolidated MDL antitrust putative class action involving complex patent- and FDA-related monopolization claims predicated on allegations of delayed entry of generic drugs.
• Served as a member of the trial counsel defending a satellite television service provider against the Federal Trade Commission in a lawsuit alleging deceptive advertising and alleged violations of the Restore Online Shoppers Confidence Act. Following a bench trial, the district court granted in part the client's motion for judgment on partial findings, and the case was subsequently dismissed by the FTC with prejudice.
• Represented one of the world's largest publishing companies in a copyright infringement action relating to a photograph of Marilyn Monroe.
• Represented a global hospitality and entertainment company in connection with an internal investigation relating to a mass shooting.
• Represented numerous clients in defending against consumer class actions brought under California's CLRA, UCL, and FAL relating to consumer products such as soap and dietary supplements.
• Represented numerous survivors of domestic violence in obtaining new or renewed domestic violence restraining orders.